Third Maze Runner Film Shut Down Indefinitely Over Dylan O’Brien’s Injury

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: Actor Dylan O'Brien attends "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" New York Premiere at Regal E-Walk on September 15, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

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Last month, actor Dylan O’Brien was rushed to the emergency room following an accident on the set of Maze Runner: The Death Cure during a vehicular stunt gone awry. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the actor was strapped into a harness atop a moving vehicle when a snafu pulled him off of the vehicle unexpectedly, after which point he slammed into a second vehicle. The collision sent the twenty-four-year-old actor to the hospital with a “concussion, facial fracture, and lacerations,” and though the injuries have been confirmed by O’Brien’s publicist as non-life-threatening, they’re worse than originally estimated and will require more time for convalescence.

As such, production on The Maze Runner: The Death Cure (a name that grows more darkly ironic with every passing day) has ground to a complete and indefinite halt as O’Brien makes a recovery. After O’Brien’s accident, Fox called a temporary hiatus until May 9, the projected date by which their star would be up and maze-running once more. But now all cast and crew has been sent home until further notice, with operations at a standstill until a date to be announced. Fox’s statement, reproduced below, suggests that the studio fully intends on resuming production as soon as possible:

“The resumption of principal photography on Maze Runner: The Death
Cure has been further delayed to allow Dylan O’Brien more time to
fully recover from his injuries. We wish Dylan a speedy recovery and
look forward to restarting production as soon as possible.”

But even though Fox sees this accident as nothing more than a delay, it could spell more trouble for the production. Accidents of this nature are more frequent among stuntpeople and crew members, such as Sarah Jones of the now-shelved Midnight Rider production, who died in an accident in early 2014. Jones’ family pressed charges, the director pled guilty to manslaughter and now faces a ten-year prison sentence of which he is expected to serve two years, and the executive producer has also received a ten-year probation ruling. When Brandon Lee was killed on the set of The Crow, his mother filed a negligence lawsuit against the production. O’Brien‘s going to survive, but the potential legal fallout has yet to be determined.